Lights turning themselves on??

[danwhiley]

So, I used to have this annoying little problem with a few of my X10 lights switching themselves on, just for fun. What is interesting is that there is no record of an X10 signal showing up in the HS log (e.g. light on C3 comes on but when I immediately go to the status it's shown as "off" and the log shows no activity on that address).

A few weeks ago, the PC that is running HS had a hard-drive failure (another tale of woe that I won't go into here...) and so we were left doing things the old-fashioned way (momentary switches on the wall) for a couple of weeks. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but the problem with the phantom light-switcher disappeared.

This week, the HD was repaired and the HS computer fired back up again. And immediately the problem with lights came back again.

This obviously implies that this is something to do with HS / the computer / the CM12U interface. Does anyone have any clever ideas or experience, as it's not only a pain switching lights off downstairs when I wake up in the morning, but it's also costing electricity.

Set-up is:

UK-based
HS 2.2.0.66
Vista OS
CM12U via USB
Mix of DIN-rail and plug-in devices.
Seems to only affect a couple of devices that are in the same room as the PC.

Thanks in advance for saving my sanity!


Dan.

[dhanford]

Perhaps it is the power supply of the PC itself causing noise and kicking lights on.

Have you tried plugging the PC's power cord into a filter to see if the problem goes away?

Thanks,
Dave

[Rupp]

I had a power supply fail in my server and ran to the local PC store and bought a cheap PS. After installation my lights in my bed room were coming on in the middle of the night. I bought an ANTEC power supply and all my issues disappeared.

[danwhiley]

Thanks folks,

I've popped in a FM10 filter and will monitor the outcome. What confuses me is that how come there's no X10 signal being noted in the HS log? Surely if a light module sees noise as X10 then the transceiver would do the same and log it?

Cheers,
Dan.

[Rupp]

Thanks folks,

I've popped in a FM10 filter and will monitor the outcome. What confuses me is that how come there's no X10 signal being noted in the HS log? Surely if a light module sees noise as X10 then the transceiver would do the same and log it?

Cheers,
Dan.

That's a classic noise issue. If it's not a "complete" X10 command HomeSeer will not recognise it not log it.

[BraveSirRobbin]

FYI, I had a cheap power supply in a computer that was introducing so much noise in the power line that a filter didn't even help.

I agree an the Antec solution, though each of my PC's and UPS units are also connected via a filter as UPS units are a known noise source.

[zimmer62]

FYI, I had a cheap power supply in a computer that was introducing so much noise in the power line that a filter didn't even help.

I agree an the Antec solution, though each of my PC's and UPS units are also connected via a filter as UPS units are a known noise source.

Same here. Again the filter didn't help it was such a noisy (as in powerline noise) power supply.

I strongly suggest reading up more on power supplies than just assuming Antec is the best, as there are many many good solutions... If I recall correctly there are a couple Antec models to avoid as well.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...at&recatnum=13

http://www.forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

Also figure out what you need on each voltage rails so you don't under power you hard drives, or other devices... not all same wattage power supplies spread out their wattage over 12v or 5volt rails evenly... Just something to ponder.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/p...ulatorlite.jsp

Of course if your cheap like me and want to save some money... This forum here http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=553826 can help you find a good deal on a power supply. Many people also discussing which power supply is better for what purpose...